"You'll be sorry in the morning..."

Having played all previous installments of Tomb Raider for Playstation, I eagerly awaited this new version for PS2. I counted the days to release. I considered renting it, but it wasn’t available yet. At length, I purchased it. Because I thought I knew exactly what to expect from the game, I failed to read a single review prior to purchase. My enjoyment of past Tomb Raider games was all the proof I needed that this, too, would be an engaging and satisfying game. Sadly, I could not have been more wrong. It is because I feel rather horribly betrayed by the excruciating gameplay of Angel of Darkness that I am compelled to offer my own review.

You should know up front that the reason I play Tomb Raider is primarily to explore the virtual environments displayed therein. True, I like shooting people with rocket launchers as much as the next person, but the point of gaming for me is exploration. Hence, I prefer the Tomb Raider games where you actually explore (gasp!) tombs and other non-urban settings. Based on these preferences, the frustration I experienced with TR6 was profound and ultimately a deal-killer. Some reviews have suggested that experienced TR players will enjoy or be able to adjust to TR6; this was most definitely not my experience.

No, Lara, No!!! Thoughts on Gameplay
While some aspects of Lara’s controls have been touchy or problematic in past renditions of the game (e.g., the precision with which one must execute various jumps of various lengths in order to avoid death), the player rather quickly learns to deal with them and the game proceeds. With TR6 we would expect control improvements that actually enhance gameplay. This is emphatically not what happens. In my view, TR6 is virtually unplayable. Lara runs more smoothly, but is otherwise terribly unwieldy. A number of specific instances will clarify my point. First, I actually died FOUR times during the training level. After recovering from my surprise that it was possible to die in the training level, I pressed on. These deaths happened because of the difficulty of controlling Lara. For instance, she decided to vault over a balcony railing three floors up—falling to her death. She rolled when I was expecting her to jump, and so on. Despite the manual’s claim that the game offers three controller “options,” these options were not to be found in my game. Believe me, I searched. I wanted to at least change the “roll” and “jump” buttons to what I was used to. Alas, to no avail.

Some people will claim that it is possible to “get used to” these controls. Because I view gaming fundamentally as entertainment, I fail to see how suffering through frustrating controls is something I should do. I was perpetually irritated with the game because I could see objects and obstacles in the environment that should have been easy to climb on or overcome. I wished I had the “old Lara” so I could, in fact, climb up onto a moveable box without having to back up, turn my character to face the box (a challenge in and of itself) and jump forward onto the box. Why no vaulting? The world may never know. How to cross a long gap? With a running jump, of course. How to execute a running jump when your character doesn’t have a “tap back” feature anymore? With great difficulty. The training level fails to provide any advice on this topic. Lara proceeds to Level One, where she encounters such a gap and has to use trial and error to get across. I was able, after several tries, to run a seemingly drunken and swerving Lara back a bit and then forward to the gap and across. But it was NOT easy, particularly when you’re used to previous control systems.

Based on these experiences I would have to say that this game exhibits the worst gameplay and controls I’ve encountered to date. There was nothing fun about my TR6 experience, although watching Lara die or attempt to do even the most basic task (e.g., running to and picking up an object) with precision became comical very soon. It would be comical, if I hadn’t spent fifty bucks for the pleasure.

But it's pretty! Thoughts on Graphics and Such
With the amazing capability of the PS2, we should expect beautiful and stunning graphics accompanied by superior audio, right? The musical score to Angel of Darkness is much improved and suitably orchestral. The voice acting was acceptable (though I’m not one to concentrate on that aspect of a game). Lara herself is smoother and more realistic, a fact you can especially appreciate as she careens off a building and falls several stories to her death on the rain soaked pavement below. Oooh! No blockiness! But seriously, the scenery for the game is only a marginal improvement over past versions. For the most part, it is as if a new and improved Lara roams the old TR landscape. And surely the game’s developers should know that beautiful graphics don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world without intuitive and functional controls.

To Rent or to Buy?
Angel of Darkness is probably worth renting, if only so you can marvel at how such a beloved and enduring character and game idea can be thoroughly butchered. Do not trust your instincts if those instincts tell you that you’ve liked previous versions and this one can’t be that bad. Trust me, it's that bad. Rent if you must, buy if your gaming goal is to create an environment in which your blood pressure skyrockets while all you’re trying to do is jump a basic gap. I’m all for challenge, mind you, so long as that challenge comes from the genuine skill required to solve puzzles, fight enemies, and dodge booby traps. If the challenge involves walking my character in a straight line, count me out.

Is Love Better the Second Time Around?
In all honesty, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to play this game a second time. That is also true, however, for the previous versions of Tomb Raider. After a whopping 25-30 levels, who needs to repeat them? But again, I did make my exploratory bias clear up front; once I’ve seen a level once, I usually don’t need to go back unless it’s something truly spectacular (e.g., St. Francis’ Folly).

How Does the Saga End?
I have no intention of suffering through the remainder of this game. In my case, the saga ends with me kicking myself all the way to my local mall to trade in TR6 (at a significant loss, mind you) for something else. Almost anything else will surely be better than this. The worst part of it all is that I genuinely feel betrayed by the abomination that is Angel of Darkness. For a company to abuse the game’s past reputation by hurling this brick onto the market in its name is truly depressing.

Reviewer's Score: 1/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/03, Updated 07/06/03